Sonic Mania was developed by Christian Whitehead, who had previously worked on enhanced ports of early Sonic games, with the aid of Headcannon and PagodaWest Games, who were chosen for their work in the Sonic fangame community, and was published by Sega. The game emulates the gameplay and 2D sprite animation of the original Sega GenesisSonic games,[10] and serves, along with Sonic Forces, as a “continuation” of Sonic’s 25th anniversary.[12] The game was announced on 22 July 2016 and released on 15 August 2017 for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4,[6][13] and on 29 August 2017 for PC.[10]

A definitive version of the game titled Sonic Mania Plus, was released on 17 July 2018 as paid downloadable content to the base game alongside a physical version of the game. Sonic Mania Plus includes the return of Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel as playable characters, as well as a 4-player Competition Mode and an “Encore Mode".[14]

After developing the game for a few months, Whitehead presented a prototype, which he called Sonic Discovery, to series producer Takashi Iizuka.[17] Iizuka was receptive, and suggested that it should include old levels from the early Sonic games it was inspired by, "remixed" in a way that felt new.[16] Iizuka conceptualized the title of the game after first seeing the demo of the game with a fully functioning Studiopolis Zone.[19] He gave it the working title of Sonic Mania, which stuck after no one suggested a better one during development.[16] The title referenced the development team's "maniacal" fandom for the series; Iizuka described the project as being made "by the mania, for the mania", and as a "passion product" driven by the fans' love for the early Sonic games.[16][17][20][21] He added, “This type of collaboration is a first for Sega and we hope everyone will be both surprised and delighted by this title.”[10]

Giant Rings hidden in each act, a feature of the original games, lead to pseudo-3D special stages similar to those in Sonic the Hedgehog CD.[17][20][22] The "Blue Sphere" Bonus Stages from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 also return, accessed by entering a portal that appears when the player passes a checkpoint while carrying 25 or more rings.

The developers modeled the gameplay on Sonic the Hedgehog 3, with each zone consisting of two Acts and boss fights at the end of each. For returning stages, the designers made the first Act feel familiar, and introduced new elements in the second Act.[23] The team cited Sonic the Hedgehog CD and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 as major influences on the level design for their "big, wide open" and "streamlined" designs, respectively.[24] According to Thomley, the team typically decided what elements to include in the returning stages prior to designing them, but sometimes came up with new ideas or change them based on how the development progressed.[24] The first original level designed was the Hollywood-themed Studiopolis Zone.[25] The desert-themed Mirage Saloon Zone was inspired by the unfinished Sonic the Hedgehog 2 level Dust Hill Zone and the Monument Valley region of the United States.[23][26] The Special Stages were inspired by more recent games such as Sonic Rush and Sonic Colors.[27] The team felt proud of their recreation of classic Sonic gameplay.[24]

The game features animated opening and ending sequences led by Tyson Hesse, one of the artists of the Archie Comics' Sonic comic book series.[17][28] It also supports the enhanced features of PlayStation 4 Pro, outputting at native 4K resolution.[29][30] The musical score was composed by Tee Lopes of PagodaWest Games, consisting of rearranged pieces from previous Sonic games alongside new material.[18][31] Lopes was chosen due to his popularity on YouTube for producing arrangements of various Sonic tracks, and for his work on the Sonic 2 HD project.[32] Lopes initially wanted his score to resemble the Sonic the Hedgehog CD soundtrack, trying to imagine what a sequel to it might have sounded like.[31] As development progressed, he took inspiration from several other older Sonic and Sega games, such as The Revenge of Shinobi (1989) and the Sega Rally games.[31][32] Lopes also took inspiration from popular music from the 1990s, such as the work of Michael Jackson.[31][32] The opening theme, "Friends", was composed by the electronic music group Hyper Potions.[17][28][33]

Promotion

The game was first announced during the presentation held by Sega at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con with a debut trailer.[34]Christian Whitehead eventually added that the game would be longer than Sonic Generations.[35] Later, on the official Sonic Twitch stream, Iizuka stated that Sonic Mania would have more classic levels than new levels. The day after that, Christian Whitehead explained to fans on Twitter that it was Sonic Team’s wish to celebrate the classic titles in Sonic Mania, but this time in a "new and exciting way".[36][37]

Briefly after the game's announcement, the game developer company Renegade Kid offered to port the game over to the Nintendo 3DS.[38] However, on 29 August 2016, Renegade Kid announced that the studio would be closed and split to two separate companies: Atooi & Infitizmo,[39] thus a Nintendo 3DS port seemingly unlikely.

On 12 January 2017, it was announced the game would also be released for the Nintendo Switch, with Tantalus Media helping to port it.[9] SXSW 2017 would also announce that they would be hosting a second Sonic panel for this year’s event, set to reveal news about the upcoming Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces.[40]

A Nintendo Dream Magazine from Japan featured Sonic Mania, but the information included was revealed months ago and also confirms that Sonic Mania will feature multiplayer.[41] During the week before 10 March 2017, Sega held a demo at their San Francisco's office to reveal more information about the game. Although the demo went well, Tails was noted to be glitchy to play.[42] On the Sonic panel of SXSW, the game was delayed to later in the year.[13]

During the E3 interview that Dengeki Online set with lizuka, he confirmed that Sonic Mania was going to have more stages than any Classic Sonic game before it.[43] On 23 June 2017, the official Sonic Twitter account announced the Sonic Mania vinyl album that would be released in cooperation with Data Discs. The pre-orders for the album were stated to be available 18 July 2017.[44][45]

During the Sonic the Hedgehog panel at San Diego Comic Con 2017, it was confirmed that Sonic Mania's code name while in development in early 2016 was "Sonic Discovery".[46] During the event, it was also confirmed that the length of Sonic Mania was comparable to that of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles.[47] Christian Whitehead also revealed that he came up with the Hard Boiled Heavies after imagining Eggman entering a state of depression after Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles and instead of going after Sonic he would merely lounge at home in his pajamas and that the abandoned Egg-Robos would go "a little mad." After thinking about this concept, the term came into being.[48]

The Special Stages for Sonic Mania were also revealed.[49]Sonic Mania was later confirmed to have an opening animation similar to that of Sonic the Hedgehog CD, which would be revealed on 14 August 2017, a day before the game releases.[50] However, the opening animation ended up being released on 10 August 2017, possibly in response to the early leaks of the game on the internet.

The PC version of Sonic Mania was delayed to 29 August 2017 for optimization. Those who pre-ordered the game on Steam were compensated with a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog, including those who ordered the Collector's Edition.[7] Should the buyer already have a copy of the game, they will receive a giftable version.[51] The game supports the PlayStation 4 Pro's enhanced features, outputting at native 4K resolution.[4]

On 15 August 2017, Christian Whitehead‏ confirmed on his Twitter account that there are some bugs on the game that are addressed and are going to be fixed.[52] With the PC version's release, patches that would later be implemented into the console versions of the game were included. One of the changes was the inclusion of the option to turn into Super Sonic with the push of a button. Also, at the Tokyo Game Show 2017, it was revealed by Takashi Iizuka that the storyline of Sonic Mania ties into Sonic Forces.[11]

Plot

After Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" ProwersavedAngel Island,[53] a sudden dimensional breach occurs in the atmosphere, causing a unique energy wave signature to appear on Angel Island.[54] While he and Sonic are relaxing, Tails picks up this odd energy reading. Despite not being the Chaos Emeralds, this reading is remarkably powerful, and Tails convinces Sonic to investigate it with him. Sonic and Tails thus head to Angel Island in the Tornado.[53] However, Dr. Eggman, having discovered the dimensional breach, has detected this energy signature too. Realizing it could be a source of unspeakable power, Eggman immediately dispatches his elite robot minions―a group of five elite Egg-Robos known as the Hard Boiled Heavies―to retrieve it.[53][54]

Sonic and Tails witnessing the Hard Boiled Heavies extract the Phantom Ruby from the ground.

Sonic and Tails arrive on Angel Island just as the Hard Boiled Heavies excavate the source of the signal, a mysterious gemstone known as the "Phantom Ruby", from the ground. As they did so, space-time suddenly warped around them,[54] with Sonic, Tails, the Hard Boiled Heavies, and Knuckles the Echidna, who was relaxing nearby, getting caught in the warp. The group gets catapulted to the Green Hill Zone, where it is revealed that the Phantom Ruby's power has transformed the Hard Boiled Heavies into more powerful Egg-Robos and granted them free will. As the Hard Boiled Heavies rush to get away from the three, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles join forces to stop them. However, they are too late to prevent Eggman from stealing the gemstone from the now-rebellious Heavies, which he promptly uses to send Sonic and co. away. Not set back by this, Sonic and his friends continue to pursue Eggman to keep him from using the gemstone's power for evil, clashing with him and the members of the Hard Boiled Heavies along the way.

Sonic and his friends eventually discover that Eggman has used the Phantom Ruby to restore the mechanized version of Little Planet. They board Eggman's enormous robot, the Titanic Monarch, and defeat Eggman and the Hard Boiled Heavies. If the player has not gathered all seven Chaos Emeralds for Sonic by then, Sonic and crew escape the mechanized Little Planet before it vanishes. If all seven Chaos Emeralds are collected while playing as Sonic however, he and Eggman get pulled into a mysterious space by the Phantom Ruby upon Eggman's defeat. There, the Phantom King (a modified version of the Hard Boiled Heavies' leader, the Heavy King), steals the Phantom Ruby from Eggman, giving himself access to incredible power; Eggman attacks the Phantom King in his Klepto Mobile to reclaim it however. Caught in the middle, Sonic uses the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic and defeats both Eggman and the Phantom King during their struggle for the Phantom Ruby.

The final shot of the game's true ending.

After dealing the final blow, Sonic and the Chaos Emeralds separate from one another. The Phantom Ruby promptly reacts to the separated Chaos Emeralds before pulling itself and Sonic into a special warp. Having made it outside, Tails and Knuckles watch with a smile as the mechanized Little Planet vanishes in a flash of light that shows Sonic smiling at them. Meanwhile, Sonic is heading towards places unknown.

The main playthrough of the game takes place in "Mania Mode", upon which a playable character is selected. The goal is to race to the end of each Act of in a series of Zones (a level in the game) within ten minutes; take too long, and the player will receive a Time Over. The game's levels consist of remixed Zones from past games, such as Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic the Hedgehog, and new Zones as well.[10] The Zones have multiple routes to the goal and secret locations to be discovered by the player. There are also alternate routes that only certain playable characters can reach. Certain characters may also have certain unique aspects about their stories, such as Mirage Saloon Zone Act 1 and Lava Reef Act 2's boss.

In gameplay, the series' collectible Rings can be found everywhere. Like in previous games, they act as health for the playable characters: as long as the player holds at least one, they will be protected from damage. Touching Badniks or obstacles like spikes inflicts damage. If a character gets damaged, they will drop all their Rings, though some can be recollected before they disappear. Taking damage without any Rings will cost the player a try. A character will also lose a try if they spend too long underwater without replenishing their air supply or fall into a bottomless pit. Losing a try makes the player start from the last Star Post they passed in an Act, or from the beginning of the Act if they have not passed any Star Posts. Running out of tries will result in a Game Over; the player can continue if they earn a Continue, however.

All playable characters have the standard Spin Jump, Spin Attack and Spin Dash moveset. There are also unique maneuvers for each character; Sonic is able to use the Drop Dash, a new move introduced in this game, which allows the player to instantly dash into a Spin Dash upon landing from a jump;[10][55] Tails can fly and swim;[56] and Knuckles can glide and climb walls.[57] Like in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, there is also a mode where the player can choose a second playable character to follow the lead character.[58] One such mode for example allows Tails to follow Sonic and provide local cooperative play between two players (with Player 1 controlling Sonic and Player 2 controlling Tails). If Tails takes damage, he does not lose Rings. Tails can also fly while holding Sonic. With this, the player can reach areas that is hard for Sonic to reach on his own.[59][60]

Beside the main storyline, the player can also collect the Chaos Emeralds: by entering one of the Giant Rings hidden throughout the Acts, the player can enter a Special Stage and obtain a Chaos Emerald by completing it. Collecting all seven Emeralds and completing the final Zone with Sonic will the game's good cinematic ending. Also, after a character gets all seven Emeralds, he can enter a Super State in Mania Mode which grants him greater speed, higher jumps and invulnerability. Using Super States however, burns through the player's Rings; once the Rings run out, the Super State ends. Bonus Stages from early games also return, which are accessed by entering a Star Circle that appears when the player passes a Star Post while carrying a minimum of twenty-five Rings; completing Bonus Stages will award the player with Medallions that unlock new features in No Save mode and Extras.[61]

Transforms into their Super State while having all Chaos Emeralds, have at least 50 Rings and while in midair.

* This ability becomes available in No Save Mode after unlocking them by collecting a certain number of Medallions from Bonus Stages. Only one of the two abilities can only be chosen which replaces the Drop Dash.

Zones

Sonic Mania consists of thirteen Zones (eight remastered, five original), each one divided into two parts (referred to as "Acts"). At the end of each Act, the player takes part in a boss battle;[35][63] "mini-bosses" are fought at the end of Act 1 and the main bosses are fought at the end of Act 2. To enter the final Zone, the player must have gathered the seven Chaos Emeralds and then clear the Titanic Monarch Zone as Sonic. The Zones in their order are:

Special Stages

Special Stages are seven extra levels where the players can collect the Chaos Emeralds. These Stages can be accessed through hidden Giant Rings in the Acts. In each Special Stage, the playable character enters a three-dimensional open course akin to the Special Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog CD. The objective is to catch up to the sole UFO in this level, all while avoiding hazards and staying within the course's borders, and obtain the Chaos Emerald the UFO has within the time limit. If the timer runs out or if the player falls off the track, the stage will end but can be retried infinitely. Spread out across the stages are Spheres that make the playable character run faster and Rings that increase the game's time limit.[61][70][71][72]

Bonus Stages

Bonus Stages are thirty-two special areas. They can be accessed by jumping into the Star Circle that appears over Star Posts when said gimmicks are passed while carrying at least twenty-five Rings. Bonus Stages in Sonic Mania play like the Special Stages from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, as well as the secret "Blue Sphere" bonus game that could be played by connecting a Sonic the Hedgehog cartridge to Sonic & Knuckles. Here, the player must run across a spherical planet. To succeed, the player must collect blue spheres (and Rings as a bonus) whilst avoiding the red spheres (with the blue spheres turning into red spheres when collected; boxing a group of blue spheres inside a perimeter of red spheres will turn all the spheres in the box into Rings). Collecting all Rings on the board will result in a "Perfect" score and the stage will end either when the player hits a red sphere or collects every blue sphere. The longer the player stays in the stage, the more it will speed up, thus increasing the difficulty.

Two types of Medallions are awarded upon the completion of a Bonus Stage. Silver Medallions are awarded to those who only collects all the Blue Spheres, while Gold Medallions are awarded to those who collects all the blue spheres and Rings.[61]

Other modes

No Save

The "Secrets" menu in No Save mode.

No Save is an additional mode within Mania Mode. Selecting this mode lets the player play the game without it saving their progress. Exclusive to No Save is also a "Secrets" menu where players can set additional bonus features exclusive to playing on No Save. These features are unlocked by collecting Medallions in the Bonus Stages and include the following:

Debug Mode: Enables Debug Mode during gameplay. While Debug Mode is active, two lines of hex code appear in the screen's top-right corner: the top line designates camera coordinates, and the bottom line designate player coordinates. This feature is unlocked after the player collects sixteen Medallions and follows the commands below:

& Knuckles: Allows a computer-controlled Knuckles to follow the player's character around in gameplay as a partner (like Tails in Mania Mode), even if the player is playing as Knuckles. This feature is unlocked after the player collects eleven Medallions.

Note that to access the bonus features, the player must highlight a "No Save" game on the Save Select screen, then press ///[W] (as of version 1.04, on the PC, the player does not need to highlight a No Save game and there is an option to choose if they want a time limit or not).

Competition

Competition is the multiplayer component of Sonic Mania. This mode features a split-screen where two players can race each other to the end of a shared Act from Mania Mode, similar to those of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.[73]

In Competition, the player who selects this mode becomes Player 1, leaving the other player to be Player 2. When using Competition, the players selects one of the three playable characters in the game before setting the game rules. These rules include:

Items: Decides the item release patterns for Monitors during the Act. This setting includes the options "Fixed" (the chosen Act retains its original power-ups), "Teleporters Only" (every monitor in the Act is replaced with the Player Swap power-up), and "Random" (every monitor in the Act is replaced with the Random power-up).

Before a race, the players choose which Zone and Act to race through; the Zones available depend on the player's progress in Mania Mode. After each round, the players select a new Act. When initiated, the race will begin with Player 1 at the top of the screen and Player 2 at the bottom, and will follow two rules:

Once a player reaches the goal, the other player has sixty seconds to complete the Act, or forfeit to a Time Over.

If both players get a Time Over, the round will be declared a draw.

At the end of an Act, the players will be graded out from five criteria: Time, Ring count at the end of the Act, their Total Ring count (including Rings they lost), and the amount of Monitors broken. The player that wins the most of out these five criteria takes the round, and the player who wins the most out of everything is the winner. In the event that the final score ends in a draw, the game is decided via a game of Mean Bean Machine.

Time Attack

Time Attack allows players to replay previously cleared Acts with the goal of getting the fastest record possible. Acts in Time Attack feature unique Goal Plates that are used for starting and ending the Acts. They also feature no bosses or Star Posts, and the "Time Elapsed" counter serves as a timer. As a new feature for the Time Attack in the Sonic series, players can restart an Act seamlessly at any point with the "Quick Restart" function.[61]

When using Time Attack, the players select a character and then the Zone and Act to race through; the Zones available depend on how far the player has gotten in Mania Mode. The challenge starts when the player passes the Start Marker and ends when passing the Goal Marker. Upon completing an Act, the player is graded based on their time, and their score; an additional "Cool Bonus" is added if the player clears an Act without sustaining damage. Once the Acts are completed, the game saves and records the player's time, which can be compared to those on a personal list of best time logs. If Sonic Mania is connected to the internet, the game also automatically uploads the players' time record to an online leaderboard after they pass the Goal Marker.

Options

The Option menu in Sonic Mania.

Options is the settings menu for Sonic Mania which holds the following options:

Video: Various video settings can be changed here:

PC:

Screen filter: Choose a screen filter.

Window Size: Choose a Window Size in non-full screen mode.

Window Border: Display or hide the window border.

Full Screen: Choose a resolution size.

VSync: Turn VSync ON/OFF.

Triple Buffering': Turn triple buffering ON/OFF

PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Switch:

Clean: Displays a soft gamescreen.

CRT-Sharp: Displays sharp on a cathode ray tube TV.

CRT-Soft: Display soft on a cathode ray tube TV.

None: No screen filter.

Sound: Set the volumes separately for "Music" and "SFX".

Controls: Shows the controller diagram and basic commands. On the PC version, the player can change the key assignments here. Conversely, the player can restore the key assignments to default here with the "Default" function.

Language: Change the language of the messages to be displayed between "English", "Français" (French), "Italiano" (Italian), "Deutsch" (German), "Español" (Spanish) and "日本語" (Japanese).

Extras

The Extras menu in Sonic Mania.

Extras is a menu containing various bonus game modes which are unlocked as the player progresses through the game. It also holds an overview of the different Medallions that have been collected by completing Bonus Stages. Modes here include:

Blue Spheres: A bonus game where one can play through a randomly-generated Bonus Stage akin to the stages from Blue Sphere in either "Original" style or "Mania" style. "Original" stages are the same as those in Blue Sphere while "Mania" stages include new gameplay elements. This feature is unlocked after the player collects all thirty-two Medallions.

Mean Bean: A bonus game where one can choose to play a game of Puyo Puyo against the computer or another player. When playing alone, the player can set the difficulty to one of five levels, with level one being the easiest and level five being the hardest. This feature is unlocked after the player collects twenty-one Medallions.

D.A. Garden: The Sound Test of Sonic Mania. Here, one can listen to the various music tracks and sound effects used in the game. This feature is unlocked after the player collects twenty-six Medallions.

Recommended

PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch

Minimum

200MB of free space

Soundtrack

A vinyl LP featuring tracks from the soundtrack was published by the music label Data Discs.[74] The album was a single LP packaged in a heavyweight gatefold sleeve with UV spot varnish, featuring new artwork exclusive to its release, along with a printed inner sleeve featuring an array of characters from the game. The release also includes a download code of the album in both lossy and lossless formats. The album will be available in three formats: 180g Classic Black, 180g Classic Blue and a 180g Limited Edition that will only be exclusive to Data Discs' official website.[75] The albums were shipped in September 2017.[75]

The digital soundtrack for Sonic Mania was released on 17 January 2018 for download on iTunes, Google Play and Amazon. The soundtrack includes most of the game’s songs, save for the levels Green Hill Zone, Chemical Plant Zone and Oil Ocean Zone.[76][77]

Promotion

Sonic Mania: Collector’s Edition.

When the game was set to be released in Summer 2017, Sonic the Hedgehog's official twitter account posted a poll on 8 September 2016, relating to the release of the Collector's Edition of the game.[78] On 13 September 2016, Amazon leaked a pre-order offer of the Sonic Mania: Collector’s Edition for the PC.[79] The Collector's Edition consists of a Sega Genesis-styled package, a 12" Classic Sonic Statue standing on a Sega Genesis that plays the "Sega" chant when turned on, a metallic collector’s card and a Genesis cartridge-like cast with a golden Ring. The Collector's Edition was later announced for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (and eventually, the Nintendo Switch[80]) as well, albeit exclusively for North America.[81] The Collector's Edition has also become available to be pre-ordered on Europe countries since 17 October 2016.[82] To promote the Collector's Edition, Sega released a retro-styled informerical (see below) based on an American informercial of Sonic 2 featuring former Sonic the Hedgehog series art director Kazuyuki Hoshino and social media manager Aaron Webber.[83]

In September 2016, Sega began selling official T-shirts through Amazon US until 30 September. These included Studiopolis Zone-based shirts and “Triple Threat” t-shirts with icons of the game’s three playable characters. Originally, the Studiopolis and Triple Threat shirts with the Sonic Mania logo printed on them were available on Amazon UK before their listings were removed.[84] It was announced that 26 boxes of the Collector's Edition were signed by Sonic Team personally.[7]

Attendees of the Sonic Mania panel at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con received a promotional instruction manual for the game.[17]

Pre-release

Sonic Mania's announcement was met with praise, with Andrew Goldfarb of IGN saying that Sonic Mania had him excited for the series again, in a way that did not happen with Sonic the Hedgehog 4.[103] Alex Donaldson of VG24/7 agreed, saying that Sonic Mania was the sequel he had wanted for over 20 years.[104] Donaldson also appreciated Sega's choice of development team, calling them "the right guys for the job", and praised the game's visuals, music, and the inclusion of obscure Sonic and Sega lore.[104] Jack Hamnett of Twinfinite praised the game's attention to detail and how faithful it felt to the original games, saying that it had the potential to return the series to its "former glory".[105]

Despite having initial doubts due to the normally mediocre reception of the series in recent years, Nick Robinson of Polygon called Sonic Mania a "revelatory moment" for him after playing a preview of the game, saying it was his most anticipated game of 2017.[106] Robinson also praised Sega's choice to hand the game's development off to fans of the series, stating that Sega's own previous attempts to make a classic style side-scrolling Sonic games, such as with Sonic Advance and Sonic the Hedgehog 4, never felt "quite right" to him.[106]

Sonic Mania's booth at E3 received multiple nominations and awards: "Best of E3 2017" from Twinfinite and from IGN, "Approved" by Kinda Funny, the "Most Likely to Inspire a Completion Run" award from Curse Network, a "Best in Show" nomination from GameInformer and from UOL Jogos and an "E3 Choice" game award nomination from Momocon.[107][108][109][110][111][112]

Post-release

Following its release on the consoles, Sonic Mania received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[89][90][91] It became the highest-rated Sonic game in fifteen years,[113] and was declared by several reviewers as among the best Sonic games and one of best 2D platformers in the genre.[114][115][116][117][118]EGM commended it as "one of the purest and most enjoyable Sonic games" and expressed excitement for the future: "The question isn’t if this experiment in reviving classic Sonic was successful or not—the question is what happens next."[93]IGN wrote that Mania "truly is the classic throwback longtime series fans have been clamoring for," but also recommended it for people new to the franchise."[10]Nintendo World Report agreed, saying that "fans of classic Sonic must buy this game, but the excellent level design, music, and graphics will please all people who enjoy a well-thought-out sidescroller."[119]Waypoint compared the game favorably to Donkey Kong Country Returns, describing it as "a game that knows what was fun about its 90s inspirations, and brings that to the table alongside strong platforming fundamentals."[120]Nintendo Life felt that Mania represented "a true return to form" for the series, and that it was a contender as the best Sonic game.[99]

Reviewers praised the game's attention to detail to its source material. Game Informer wrote that its gameplay was "nearly indistinguishable from its Genesis predecessors, but with added moves and extra polish."[96]Easy Allies wrote that the game emulated the original games "exceptionally", commenting that "running, jumping, and spin dashing all work exactly as well as you would hope."[121]Twinfinite commending the developers for "[filling] every crevice of Sonic Mania with nostalgic references and [accomplishing] this without beating fans over the head with it."[122]Metro, the the British newspaper, wrote that the game was "filled with fanservice" and summarized it as "sort of school project gone wild, something enthusiastic kids have made while the teacher was away and which far surpasses anything they were actually supposed to be doing." [123]

Reviewers also praised to the level design. Hardcore Gamer wrote that the remixed versions of older stages felt fresh while staying true to the originals.[124]GameInformer wrote that the new stages matched the quality of the stages form early Sonic games, writing that they "successfully capture the spirit of what made the original games so great.[96]The A.V. Club praised the levels as the game's high point: "There’s so much going on in each level, so many secrets and one-off novelties, that I didn’t mind getting game overs and having to start again."[125]Venture Beat praised the replayability of the levels: "branching paths make multiple playthroughs feel fresh, since you can still discover new areas of a stage even after beating it several times."[126]

The graphics and soundtrack attracted wide acclaim. USGamer described the graphics as "[the] pinnacle of the perpetually running hedgehog's pixel-embellished career,"[127] while COG Connected wrote that "although pixelated 2D graphics are inherently nostalgic, I’m not convinced that the older Sonic games ever looked quite this good."[128]Cubed3 described the levels as stylish and vibrant: "There is actual lore to the entire game if you stop and look, and that is owed to the brilliant visuals that have a story to tell."[129]GameSpot praised the animations and detail as superior to the original games, writing that they "add an extra layer of personality to the iconic characters that's a joy to see in motion".[114]PlayStation Country wrote that composer Tee Lopes "absolutely nails" the music, comparing it positively to the soundtracks from Sonic CD and the Saturn version of Sonic 3D Blast.[130]EGM wrote that the soundtrack was "completely fantastic and fitting—and somehow feeling nostalgic and totally fresh both at the same time."[93]

Polygon cited frustrations with the controls and enemy placement as examples of Sonic Mania's dedication to the original games to a fault.[102]AppTrigger wrote that "Sonic Mania brings Sonic and friends back to the series’ 2D roots successfully but also reminds us of many of the issues with early 90s 2D platformers." [131]VideoGamer.com felt the game relied too much on nostalgia, and wrote of the small number of original stages and minimal innovation. It concluded that the game was "a really, really, good proof of concept" that the development team could expand in the future.[132]

After a day of its release, the Nintendo Switch version of the game could top the best seller charts "in most regions", specifically in the UK and US regions and was placed as Nintendo Switch's sixth best seller in Japan.[133]

The PC version received criticism for its implementation of DenuvoDRM, which some thought to be the real reason behind the two week launch delay.[134][135] In addition, the game was unable to be played if not connected to the internet on launch day, which Sega stated was a bug unrelated to Denuvo, releasing a patch the following day that fixed it.[136][137]

Sales

Sonic Mania topped the best-seller's list on Nintendo Switch, selling more than the previous holders Minecraft and Overcooked: Special Edition.[138] The game heavily increased the profit of Sega's third quarter for 2017, with Sonic Mania credited for Sega selling nearly double the amount of packaged games the company sold in their third quarter from the previous year.[139]

Accolades

At E3 2017, Sonic Mania was nominated for the "Best Platformer" and "Best Nintendo Switch Game" awards by IGN, though it lost both to Super Mario Odyssey.[140] The game was also nominated at The Game Awards 2017 for the "Best Family Game" award,[141] at PC Gamer's Game of the Year 2017 Awards for "Best Platformer",[142] and at Destructoid's Game of the Year Awards 2017 for "Best PC Game".[143] The game was also nominated for "Best Platformer" at IGN's Best of 2017 Awards,[144] although it did win the People's Choice award for "Best Original Music".[145]Giant Bomb classified the game as a runner-up for "Best Surprise" at the Game of the Year 2017 Awards.[146]Entertainment Weekly ranked the game ninth on their list of the "Best Games of 2017",[147] while Eurogamer ranked it 27th on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017".[148]

Quitting the game now takes the player to the respective mode's menu instead of the main menu.

Time Attack's menu interface has been altered, and a new results screen is displayed when reaching the goal.

The Time Attack leaderboards have been reset.

It is no longer possible to select the same character as another player in Competition Mode.

Screen layout settings have been added to Competition Mode, allowing players to play without stretched screens.

The countdown jingle now plays when one or more players have only twelve seconds left to reach the goal in Competition Mode.

There is a new data option in the settings which allows the player to delete all saves in Mania Mode (and Encore if they have Sonic Mania Plus), medallions, replays (if they have Sonic Mania Plus), all save data and Time Attack scores.

Cheat codes

Level Select

Enter Mania Mode and go to "No Save" on the "Save Select" menu. Enter "No Save" and turn Debug Mode on the "Secrets" menu. Press then the "Ok" button on the "Secrets" menu to return to "Save Select". Highlight then "No Save" and execute the following commands to enter Level Select:

PlayStation 4

Xbox One

Switch

PC

Hold + OPTIONS button

Hold + Menu button

Hold + + button

Hold [Q] +

Note that even as of 1.04 of Sonic Mania, the player still needs to highlight a "No Save" game for it to work.

Encore Mode: Play sounds 02, 00, 01, 08, 00, 06, 02, 03. This sets the game to Encore Mode, allowing the player to play Encore Mode Zones (except Angel Island Zone) and use Debug Mode in Encore Mode. If the player tries to enter Egg Reverie Zone after activating this code, it will send them to the first Special Stage in Mania Mode instead.

Fly anywhere as the character's Super State: Play sounds 02, 00, 01, 07, 00, 08, 01, 05. This allows every character in their Super State to fly in any zone like Super Sonic normally would in Egg Reverie Zone.

32 Gold Medallions: First, while on the title screen, input the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 level select code (Up, Up, Down, Down, Up, Up, Up, Up) in the time between Sonic appearing and the press start option appears. After that, go into level select and put in the Ricky Mania code. Once the player has done that, they can now play sounds "01, 09, 08, 09, 00, 05, 00, 01" and get thirty-two gold Medallions. This effect is lost upon closing the game. This means, for example, that if the player originally had six silver medallions and then obtains all thirty-two gold medallion through the cheat code, then the player will go back to having six silver medallions after exiting and re-entering the game. It also does not unlock the "Full Medal Jacket" or the "No Way? No Way" achievements on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Steam versions of the game.

Miscellaneous

Dunkey Easter Egg: Grab onto one of the hooks in Hydrocity Zone and press ← ← ← → → → ↑ ↑ ↑ with the directional controls. This will cause a ring chime to be played. Now, upon using a Booster, a videogamedunkey-related sound effect will be played. Curiously, this button combination was previously used in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles as a Level Select cheat code.

This Easter egg has been removed as of version RC 1.03.0919 (released 25 September 2017).

Vape Mode: A mode called "Vape Mode" (short for Vaporware Mode) was found in the code of the game and can be accessed in the Level Select, but the code to unlock it is unknown.

Trivia

It is the first Sonic video game in the series to output at 4K resolution.

The color palette of the cover art, including the logo primarily consists of mainly shades of blues, orange and reds in correspondence to the main protagonist characters in the game; Sonic, Tails and Knuckles.

The Pre-order Trailer and Opening Animation themes were also composed by Hyper Potions,[154] their titles being "Time Trials" and "Friends" respectively.

This is the second Sonic game to feature the playable character spinning horizontally when jumping on a Spring since Sonic the Hedgehog CD.

After completing an Act, Sonic will perform a short hop before doing the traditional index finger waving pose. The hopping animation originated from an early victory pose seen in pre-release screenshots of Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), but was later unused in the final release. Tails' final pose is based on existing artwork of himself, while Knuckles' seems to be based either on his pose from the pose he displays on the title menu for Sonic & Knuckles or an official artwork from Knuckles' Chaotix

If the playable character moves fast enough, he can outrun the screen, similar to how this was possible in the original games.

However, unlike in previous games, this behavior in Sonic Mania is clearly intentional, as there is a lower speed requirement.

The mock infomercial video of the Sonic Mania's Collector's Edition is a reference to the humorous television infomercial for a Sonic the Hedgehog 2console bundle that debuted back in 1993. The fake "suggested price" of $6,231,991 seen in the infomercial is a reference to the North American release date for the original Sonic the Hedgehog (June 23, 1991).

The cool bonus counted at the end of the level is in reference to the Sega Saturn's "This is COOL" slogan that was printed on its Skeleton and Derby models. It is also in reference to the Sega Saturn's Cool Pad controller.

The main menu has features similar to Sonic R in terms of showcasing graphics whenever an option is toggled over.

Toggling the "options" will showcase a sprite of the Sega Saturn gamepad.

The "& Knuckles" mode is a reference to a popular internet meme based around Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. People add the "& Knuckles" found on the title screen of the game to other images, often adding many other bizarre images in the process. The meme is widely popular among fans of the series.

When you unlock the mode, the quote is "Knock Knock! & Knuckles mode has been unlocked!" This references another Knuckles-based meme, "Knock, Knock, it's Knuckles," which is part of the lyrics to his theme song in Sonic Adventure, "Unknown from M.E."

The music played during the secret ending of a "Knuckles & Knuckles" playthrough is a remix of "This Horizon" from Knuckles' Chaotix.

During the credits, someone is credited Alex "The Kidd" Solverston. This is a reference to the nickname he was given by fans on the official Sonic livestream and Sega's original mascot, Alex Kidd.

The bad ending features Dr. Eggman juggling the Phantom Ruby under the Chaos Emeralds that were not collected. This is a reference to the bad ending of the original Sonic the Hedgehog.

The collectors card in the Collector's Edition contains a faint writing at the bottom that reads "Fun Is Infinite". This is a reference to an infamous message in Sonic the Hedgehog CD when attempting to play a pirated copy of the game.

An orchestral version of the main theme of Sonic Mania can be heard in the cutscene before Ghost Town (where Classic Sonic appears to save Tails) in Sonic Forces.

Many of the sound effects in Sonic Mania are higher-quality versions from the ones used in classic Sonic games, mostly the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive titles, but sound effects from the Mega-CD, 32X, Saturn, and even the 8-bit Sonic entries are also present.

Footage from Sonic Mania is used for the display on the arcade machine furniture item in the game Two Point Hospital, which is also published by Sega. The footage is a short clip of Sonic traversing Flying Battery Zone, while the arcade machine itself is simply decorated with the Sega logo.

Videos

Sonic Mania - 25th Anniversary Debut

Sonic Mania - Official Japanese Trailer

Sonic Mania - Official Nintendo Switch Trailer

Sonic Mania Pre-Order Trailer

『ソニックマニア』配信日アナウンスPV

Sonic Mania - Launch Trailer

RARE Sonic Mania Collector's Edition Infomercial - 1996

Behind the Scenes Sonic Mania Infomercial

Sonic Mania - Accolades Trailer

References

↑ 2.02.12.2Tom Fry on Twitter. Twitter (15 June 2017). Retrieved on 21 June 2017. “Tom Fry: Been dying to do this, now I am. @pietepiet @TheGatestormer @midio are my brothers in art on #SonicMania. It's been the biggest pleasure ❤️😘”

↑ 11.011.1Sonic Forces - TGS 2017 Otakumode Interview (52:37). YouTube (23 September 2017). Retrieved on 24 December 2017. “Takashi Iizuka (as translated by board's translator): So...last month, uh, in August was the release of a game called "Sonic Mania", and uh, it got a really warm, uhm... welcome from everyone in the community, from all the fans, specially abroad a lot of people are enjoying playing it. And, uhm... I really hope that if you play "Sonic Mania", you get to play "Sonic Forces" too... you may think those titles are unrelated, but actually, they may not be, and there might be a... (laughs). Definitely, I want you to check both titles because there is something going on between the two.”

↑ 18.018.1PagodaWest Games on Twitter. Twitter (29 July 2016). Retrieved on 6 September 2016. “Noah Copeland: Question: is everyone from PagodaWest involved in the development of Sonic Mania, or just one/two team members? / PagodaWest Games: Jared and Tom, formerly a part of S2HD are in charge of level design/art and @teelopesmusic is doing the music.”